Mass cruise tourism in French Polynesia: Profit vs. ecology

French Polynesia is faced with a tough choice: limit the cruise tourism industry to protect the environment or increase the number of tourists. One of its most sought-after regions, the island of Bora Bora, has imposed a limit on cruise ships, while others are trying to attract more visitors.

Bora Bora is a small island in the South Pacific. Its green hills with a central peak, shallow reef, turquoise lagoons and bungalows above the water are associated with that very paradise vacation for many travellers. But the splendor of nature can turn out to be a disaster itself as Bora Bora has become one of the most sought-after vacation destinations in the world. More and more cruise ships began arriving on the island and their passengers crowded all corners of the island. This scale became so impressive that in 2019 Bora Bora decided to limit the number of cruises from 2022.

In 2021, the world press made headlines about French Polynesia's intentions to also ban cruise ships with more than 3,500 passengers on board from 2022, followed by a goal to limit the total number of tourists as well. But with the arrival of the new government, these plans have changed dramatically: instead of limiting the number of travelers by 2033, the desire to double the number of travellers was announced. After that, large cruise ships were spotted in some ports.

This abrupt change in tourism policy has created a conflict situation in the community between supporters of the development of the tourism industry and those committed to a more ecological approach, as in Bora Bora. Both focus on large cruise ships, but the two camps have very different conclusions about them. Some insist that it is the liners that cater to the majority of tourists, while others emphasize their pollution of the environment.

There are too many tourists...

French Polynesia includes over a hundred islands, including Tahiti and Bora Bora, the most popular among travellers. And, as in most Pacific countries, the tourism industry is an extremely important part of the economy: according to Tahiti Tourisme, in French Polynesia, it accounts for about 12% of GDP and about 80% of export revenues. According to statistics provided by the government, a significant jump in the number of tourists has come in the last decade: while about 160 thousand people visited French Polynesia in 2011, there were already more than 235 thousand in 2019. Most of them were travellers from the United States and France.

The growth of this indicator was facilitated by the development of cruise tourism in the regions of French Polynesia. Chairman of the Bora Bora Tourist Association Rainui Besinau recalls that in the days when large cruise liners with up to 3 thousand passengers were docked in the island's ports, it seemed that tourists literally "took over" the island. Before the restriction was imposed on Bora Bora, Besinau said, there were two completely incompatible tourism models that competed with each other: the luxury option on a quiet island without crowds of tourists and the masses on cruise ships.

In 2019, the Bora Bora local council opted for luxury tourism and imposed restrictions on daily cruise ship visits of up to 1,200 people. Environmental organizations happily welcomed the decision. Marie-Laure Vanizette of the environmental group Te Ora Naho called the move logical enough to "preserve our assets and our way of life." At the same time, Vanizette is not adamantly opposed to all cruise ships. Thus, smaller ships could replace hotels in French Polynesia, and this could hinder access to land for locals and negatively affect the environment. However, "big monsters" with a "bad reputation," as she characterized huge cruise ships, cause significant damage to the landscape and ecology.

In 2019, a team of scientists from several universities in Spain and Chile published a study according to which the carbon footprint of a cruise liner can exceed the emissions of 12,000 cars. Such ships use bunker fuel, a tar-like substance that emits huge amounts of greenhouse gases when burned. And while many cruise tourism companies, including those in French Polynesia, are planning to switch to liquefied natural gas, environmentalists do not welcome this decision either. They believe that this type of fuel threatens significant methane emissions, adversely affecting the climate.

The Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), which represents the world's largest cruise companies, does not agree with this assessment. CLIA's managing director for Australia, Joel Katz, said the association's members plan to reduce carbon dioxide emissions across the cruise fleet by 40% by 2030 and reach zero emissions by 2050. He also emphasizes that cruises provide an important service to the community by creating jobs and supporting local tourism businesses.

... but not for the rest of French Polynesia

At a time when Bora Bora is setting limits, the rest of French Polynesia is going to take advantage of the temptation and take a different approach to cruise tourism development.

Back in 2022, French Polynesia proposed to expand its sustainability programme and set a total annual limit of 280,000 tourists. Priority was to be given to local cruise companies and ships with 700 passengers on board or less. Thus, the islands were to become locations for quality tourism with as little impact on the wildlife of French Polynesia as possible. But it was decided to abandon the programme of "slow tourism" already in 2023.

President Moetai Brotherson, who led the country in May, told local media about plans to increase the number of tourists to 600 thousand by 2033 (to understand the situation, it should be known that in 2022, this figure reached almost 219 thousand).

These goals were confirmed to the Guardian and tourism advisor Guillaume Colombani. He attributed the promise of the former government to the "massive attack" on airliners at the time. In order to reach the planned figures, the government has drawn up a list of abandoned hotels suitable for redevelopment and state-owned parcels of land on which investors can create new resorts with a focus on sustainable development. At the moment, the construction of a three-level cruise terminal is well underway in Papeete, the capital of French Polynesia, which is scheduled to open in 2024. It will receive thousands of cruise travellers daily and will also become a promenade destination for the local population.

Tour operators have generally reacted positively to this plan to grow the industry, but have also raised concerns about how such a large number of travellers will be accommodated. For example, Alexandrine Wan, executive director of travel agency Nani Travels, noted that a sustainable development strategy must be carefully considered and include the wishes of the local population and possible negative environmental impacts.

Many tour operators also insist that the more tourists, the more benefit to the country. But the organization of accommodation, of course, will need to work hard to ensure that the number of travellers does not degrade the quality of the holiday.

Bora Bora is a "peaceful island"

Maireraurii Leverd, CEO of the Bora Bora Council also spoke on the future of the tourism industry to the Guardian. According to her, even if the rest of French Polynesia seeks to increase tourist numbers, Bora Bora will remain restricted, mainly because it is a very small island.

Vanizette believes that Brotherson's decision is completely contrary to a sustainable tourism strategy and that more tourists in the future would be disastrous. Dr. Timothy MacNeill, director of sustainable tourism research at Ontario University of Technology, agrees. He believes that if one were to choose the industry best to get rid of, cruise tourism would be the first in line in French Polynesia.

Vanizette called Bora Bora's approach a more sustainable and greener model of cruise tourism, which will also help families earn more money despite the cap and should be adopted by the rest of French Polynesia.

Since the cap on the number of cruise tourists, Bora Bora Bora has thrived, according to Besinau, so they will continue to take this approach to maintain the image of a "peaceful island."

A series of Guardian articles on Pacific tourism noted that new tourism models have already emerged in countries in the region. In addition to restrictions on the number of visitors to Bora Bora, the Cook Islands and Vanuatu are introducing "regenerative tourism," and Palau is asking tourists to sign a pledge of environmentally responsible behaviour. However, this is not sufficient to address the problem, including due to the lack of resources and the difficulty of monitoring remote locations.